Humberto Gerardo Rubio Méndez disappeared on April 19th, 2024, in Zapopan, Jalisco. He was last seen that Friday night when he went out partying with one of his friends. That’s all his family knows so far.
Finding him is the only reason the Rubio Méndez family is present at the march, in which hundreds of families are marching to demand that the State, specifically the Government of Jalisco, do its job and locate their missing relatives.
Rather than searching alone, this family decided to join the Light of Hope Collective, a group that—for the past four years—has filled dozens of public spaces with search records for the more than 15,000 people who have made Jalisco the state with the most disappearances in the entire country.
The strategy of the family and their collective was clear: to march and raise their voices for the people who are no longer here. Throughout the procession, they marched at a steady pace to expand the contingent and allow time and space for the faces of all the missing people to be seen on banners, placards, or T-shirts.
Humberto’s case file remains open, but to this day his family has no news of any significant progress.
“For us, what has changed the most is the lack of peace of mind. Knowing that someone among us is out there, not knowing if they’re okay or not, worrying about whether they’ll give you any news…” says Paola Rubio, Humberto’s sister.
At 25, she has had to mobilize her family to continue the search. Joining Light of Hope has allowed them to receive support, accompaniment, and guidance to continue the process of locating Humberto, all beyond the apparent actions that the authorities claim to be taking, but which yield no results.
Searching for Humberto and all the missing people has given them a new routine, as they have dedicated their time to posting search cards and participating in various search activities. They do all of this while also raising their two children, who are also part of the march.
Throughout the march, the families chanted various slogans, one of the most heard being: “We are not one, we are not a hundred. Damn government, count us properly.” The Rubio Méndez children find it funny that their grandfather Humberto swears. Truly, what child doesn’t find it funny to hear adults say things that aren’t supposed to be said, but nowadays the cause justifies anything.
The chants are also accompanied by a deafening roll call, a act of memory in which the name of each missing person being searched for by the Collective is mentioned. After each name, the only thing heard is: “PRESENT, NOW, AND ALWAYS.”
This action is not the same for everyone, because while most wish they didn’t have to hear the names of so many brothers, sons, mothers, husbands… the children of the Rubio family eagerly await to shout Humberto Gerardo’s name, because they want everyone to hear it… and so, they ask if it will be long before they say: Humberto Gerardo Rubio Méndez. And when it is finally heard, they shout loudly: “PRESENT, NOW AND ALWAYS.”
No one should be exposed to the pain of having a missing relative, but children especially should never wonder where their loved ones are.
The voice of Humberto Rubio Pérez, father of Humberto Gerardo, resonated among the banners and slogans as the march that left the Glorieta of the Disappeared of Jalisco reached the doors of the Government Palace: “I am Humberto Rubio Pérez and I am looking for my son…” he stated firmly, denouncing the indifference of the authorities and the fragility of the investigations, which, instead of moving forward, are regressing.
“At the moment, they pay attention to us and then they forget everything they are doing related to our case…” He therefore asked society not to normalize the absence of any person who has been disappeared: “If we stop searching for our missing persons, the government will turn a deaf ear.”
His message was clear: the strength of families lies in remaining united and visible because only then will the search remain alive and the memory will not be erased.
In Jalisco, there are more than 15,000 cases in the State Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons, this until July 2025, but more than that… there are are thousands of lives interrupted by violence and impunity.
The families present at the march on August 30th, 2025, should not be there, they should not suffer what the Rubio Family is suffering, because they are not asking the State for a favor, they are only demanding that it fulfill its responsibility to locate all the people who have been disappeared, among them Humberto Gerardo Rubio Méndez, who has not been heard from since April 19, 2024.
Original article by Sofia Arana Velasco Zona Docs, September 7th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.